Jonathan Papelbon's self-declared day off Sunday, which probably cost the Phillies a win -- and a series sweep -- over the Mets is still a hot topic in the Delaware Valley. (CSN Philly)

If the showboating of the Yasiel Puigs and Carlos Gomezes of the world is okay with Donnie Baseball, then it really should be okay with the rest of us. (NBC's Hardball Talk)

Not a good night in Yankee Universe. Carlos Beltran (hyperextended elbow) joins the injury list; two of their embedded Red Sox, Alfredo Aceves and Matt Thornton, combine to allow four runs over 1 1/3 innings; a large group of Mets fans, wearing shirts that read "Bronx Invasion," charge into Yankee Stadium, and the Yanks blow a 7-4, seventh-inning lead as the Mets -- led by ex-Yankee center fielder Curtis Granderson (2-for-5 with a home run) -- rally for an 9-7 victory. No, not a good night. (AP)

Marshall Henderson was one of the first out of the box with an anti-Michael Sam Tweet after Sam was drafted on Saturday. Now he's claiming he did it at the behest of one of his gay friends, who wants to use the responses in a psychology project. Uh huh . . . (NBC's College Basketball Talk)

Now that passions have cooled from the 2011 brawl, Cincinnati and Xavier are taking their intracity rivalry back to campus sites. (College Basketball Talk)

The two University of Richmond women's coaches killed in last week's hot-air balloon crash are honored with a moment of silence as Sunday's school commencement ceremonies, and one of them -- Ginny Doyle -- is remembered for the time she shut up Billy Packer. (AP)

Whatever Donald Sterling thought he was trying to accomplish with his Anderson Cooper interview flew out the window when he shouted "He's got AIDS!" about Magic Johnson. (AP)

Sterling has become the face of the NBA playoffs, overshadowing anything and everything that happens on the court -- Adam Silver had to leave his front-row seat at the Barclays Center while LeBron was dropping 49 on the Nets (more on that in a moment) to issue a statement of apology to Johnson -- but Adrian Wojnarowski says the NBA, because of its years of ignoring Sterling's bigotry and madness, has only itself to blame. (Yahoo! Sports)

To the surprise of no one, agents say that as long as any of the Sterlings own the team -- and, judging by their belligerent talk, they're going to try to hang on as long as they can -- no free agents will sign with the Clippers. (NBC's Pro Basketball Talk)

The 2004 Red Sox also adopted the "Why not us?" mantra, but they did it before the postseason began; they didn't wait until they fell behind the Yankees 0-3 in the playoffs, as the Blazers have done against the Spurs. Still, Portland used the phrase as a rallying cry in its Game 4 victory over San Antonio that averted a sweep and kept its season alive. (AP)

The NBA decides that Serge Ibaka's shot to Blake Griffin's groin was, in deed, an accident, and Ibaka won't be punished. (Yahoo! Sports)